Local legion post honors military families with Blue Star banners
Members of American Legion Post 51 in Uniontown showed their appreciation to military families who have loved ones serving in the Persian Gulf on Saturday by presenting the families of soldiers serving there with Blue Star Banner flags. Joe T. Joseph, Post 51 adjutant and Blue Star Banner program chairman, said there are 102 Fayette County soldiers still serving in Iraq and Kuwait.
Retired Master Sgt. John Kenes told the story of the Blue Star Program and thanked the mothers, fathers, grandparents and godparents present at the dinner for their dedication and devotion to their loved ones who are serving America overseas.
Kenes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1941 to 1978, said in researching the Blue Star Flag origin he was surprised to find that it was created in 1917.
“The Blue Star Flag was designed by World War I Army Capt. Robert Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry who had two sons on the front lines,” Kenes said.
Joseph said from those origins Post 51 wanted to bring back the program as a way of showing support for the troops.
Post 51 Commander Ronald E. Danko, who served during the Korean War, said his mother hung a Blue Star Banner in her window when he was overseas.
Kenes said, “This is a way for the world to know who is giving so much for liberty. When you drive by a home that is proudly displaying a Blue Star Banner Flag you can say to yourself ‘Those are parents who love their children very, very much and are proud that their children are fighting for freedom.”‘
Kenes additionally said that during World War I the Blue Star became Gold if a service member was killed or died while on active duty.
“Gold is for sacrifice to the cause of liberty and freedom,” said Kenes. “Blue Star families have tomorrows with their children, but Gold Star families only have memories and yesterdays.”
Danko and Joseph said they hope they never have to hand a Gold Star to a family.
Marine Staff Sgt. Paul (Tony) Dipierro, who was scheduled to speak at the dinner, was unable to attend, according to Joseph because his wife had their second child on Friday night.
Joseph said Dipierro recently returned home from Iraq after dislocating his shoulder in a service-connected incident. Ninety-five of Dipierro’s fellow soldiers are still in Iraq.
Col. Ronald J. Park, of the 99th Regional Support Command Unit out of Coraopolis, explained how troops prepare for battle.
“The mission of the 99th Regional Support Command is exercising peacetime command and control of over 200 Army Reserve Units in five states and the District of Columbia,” Park said. “Another aspect of the 99th’s mission is supporting Army reserve unit mobilizations during periods of crisis and war, as well as making sure that units get home after demobilization.”
The Fayette County resident, with 33 years of active and reserve military duty, said during his military career he has seen many changes in structure and the way the reserves conduct operations.
“Back in the 1970s, most Army reserverists were committed to performing one weekend drill a month and two weeks of annual training during the summer,” said Park. “That all changed in the 1980s as the active Army began to reduce the size of the Army and began to place many combat support and combat service support units in the reserve force.”
Park said the Army Reserve now plays a significant role in humanitarian causes, peacekeeping, homeland security and the war on terrorism.
“Ever since the Gulf War in the early 1990s, reservists are no longer called ‘weekend warriors,'” said Park. “We are now called ‘citizen soldiers.'”
Park said even though it is sometimes hard for soldiers to leave their families, jobs or college, they do it because they have a bigger job to do.
“This month, the 99th Regional Support Command will screen all remaining soldiers who have not been mobilized,” said Park. “Once mobilization is initiated, the 99th will conduct family readiness programs.”
Park said every time soldiers, who are in Iraq come home, the 99th Regional Support Command has to get another group ready to go to the Persian Gulf.
One of the special guests who received a Blue Banner Flag was Dunbar Township resident Joe Ross, the grandfather of U.S. Army Private Salvatore “Sam” Ross, 20, who was critically wounded in Iraq and is recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland.
Ross said his grandson underwent eye surgery at the hospital Friday, however, doctor’s are not sure if he will lose the sight in one eye. Ross also said that his grandson’s left foot above the ankle had to be amputation after he sustained wounds from an explosion in Iraq last month.
Ross, who sent a letter to President George W. Bush, received a reply explaining Operation Iraqi Freedom and why American soldiers are there.
More than 70 families, who attended Saturday’s festivities, received the Blue Star Banner Flag, which has a red border and a bright blue star in the white center of the flag. Families who have more than one person serving in the armed forces received additional flags.
Joseph said any family interested in receiving a flag that couldn’t come to the dinner can call him at 724-438-8688.
In closing Danko said, “The Blue Banner Program shows support for those who have yet to come back home to the greatest country in the world. We have service men and women serving their country in 32 countries and we salute them and wish them ‘God speed.'”